FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Men’s and Women’s Candidates Announced for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (January 4, 2018) – Sixty NCAA® men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court were selected as candidates today for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate basketball. To be eligible for the award, a student- athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Among the 60 candidates, all are in excellent academic standing with 14 having grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher. Eight of this year’s candidates were 2016-17 CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans®, and seven returned to the court this season after receiving All- America honors for their performances a year ago. Each of the candidates also volunteers his or her time with charitable organizations and causes while upholding a reputation for positive character on campus and in the community.

Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to fields of 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four® and NCAA Women’s Final Four® this spring. For more information on each of the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

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MEN’S BASKETBALL CANDIDATES:

Grayson Allen Duke Kodi Justice Arizona State Shawn Anderson Navy Marcus Lee Cal Braian Angola Florida State Yante Maten Georgia Joel Berry II North Carolina Bryant McIntosh Northwestern Trevon Bluiett Xavier Jordan McLaughlin USC Vladimir Brodziansky TCU Luke Morrison Army Jevon Carter West Virginia Cameron Morse Youngstown State Gary Clark Cincinnati Albert Owens Oral Roberts Angel Delgado Seton Hall Wesley Person Troy Ben Emelogu II SMU Kahron Ross Lehigh Marcus Foster Creighton Gerdarius Troutman Florida Atlantic Rob Gray Houston Kevin Vannatta UNC Asheville Rokas Gustys Hofstra Mitchell Wilbekin Wake Forest A.J. Jacobson North Dakota Thomas Wilder Western Michigan Justin Johnson Western Kentucky Jonathan Williams Gonzaga

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CANDIDATES:

Raigyne Louis LSU Sally McCabe Belmont Texas Brooke McCarty Texas Briana Betz-White Loyola Brittany McPhee Stanford Duke Sydni Means Mercer Tyra Buss Indiana UConn Amanda Cahill Indiana Michelle Nwokedi Pennsylvania Emily Clemens Western Illinois Vionise Pierre-Louis Oklahoma Kylie Giebelhausen Southern Illinois Tianna Tarter East Tennessee State Rebecca Greenwell Duke Elle Thompson South Dakota State Delaney Hodgins Eastern Washington Rebekah VanDijk UT Arlington Faith Ihim Oral Roberts Victoria Vivians Mississippi State Kaylee Jensen Oklahoma State Carlie Wagner Minnesota Jackie Kemph Saint Louis Baylor Jordan Korinek Kent State Morgan William Mississippi State Grace Lennox Eastern Illinois UConn

CONTACT Erik Miner Phone: (913) 563-5412 [email protected]

ABOUT THE AWARD An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors